MARIANO BENLLIURE

(1862 / 1947)

MARIANO BENLLIURE Valencia (1862) / Madrid (1947) "Maria del Rosario Silva and Gurtubay", 1902

Polychrome plaster. In 1902, Benlliure modelled the bust of the child Mª del Rosario de Silva y Gurtubay (Madrid, 1900-1934), when she was two years old, at the request of her parents, Don Alfonso Silva y Fernandez de Cordoba, Duke of Hijar, Aliaga and Marquis of San Vicente del Barco, among other titles, and Doña Maria del Rosario Gurtubay y Gonzalez de Castejon, Lady to Queen Victoria Eugenia. In this portrait, the sculptor managed to capture, naturally and without any affectation, the charm and tenderness of the little girl, who seems to be attentively observing his work. Her hair is combed in ringlets, which are gathered with a bow to frame her delicate face. The flounces of her dress merge to form the pedestal, inspired by modernism, decorated with a few roses, barely sketched. From this model, Benlliure drew points and carved with great virtuosity a bust in marble, which is preserved in the Collection of the Palace of Liria, since Mª del Rosario would become years later, in 1920, Duchess consort of Alba through her marriage to Don Jacobo Fitz-James Stuart y Falco, 17th Duke of Alba, until her early death from tuberculosis at the age of 34. The original plaster model that is presented must have been polychromed years later, when the sculptor's studio was dismantled, as happened with many other busts, for example, that of the daughter of the portrayed, Mª del Rosario Cayetana Fitz-James Stuart y de Silva, Duchess of Alba, currently belonging to the Museum of the City of Valencia, as a legacy of the lawyer Adolfo de Azcarraga. We would like to thank the Mariano Benlliure Foundation and in particular Ms. Lucrecia Enseñat Benlliure for their help in cataloguing this lot. Measurements: 56 x 35 cm.